Couldn't afford the time or the money for the 800-mile Edinburgh round-trip for the full-on comedy festival experience this summer? Fear not, there's something a little closer to home. Starting tonight a return train ticket to the north Kent coast will get you to the Whitstable Winkle Festival – no relation to the famous Whitstable Oyster Festival. Terrible name, but on the bright side some of the best comedy acts fresh from the Fringe – and some who had the good sense not to upset their bank manager by heading north this year – will be getting some late summer sea air in this tiny but trendy resort.

Tea shops, cafes and bars will be echoing with laughter over the next four days. And it is all indoors so there is no need to worry about the weather. Though, of course, the great law of sod means that Kent in late September will be considerably drier than Prince's Street in August.

Among the highlights this Friday are Boothy Graffoe, who didn't do Edinburgh this year, plus Richard Herring and Pappy's Fun Club who did and got great reviews. On Saturday another Edinburgh 2008 refusenik Adam Bloom is headlining while Milton Jones will also be doing the honours. And for anyone down in the afternoon there is a screening of Sarah Silverman's taboo-tickling movie Jesus Is Magic. On Sunday there is even an inevitable awards ceremony, which is nice, though I don't think it is ever going to rival the if.comedy awards for controversy and career-making.

The Whitstable Winkle is the brainchild of resident Steve Graham, who did a bit of stand-up in the seventies and now runs a local ice-cream parlour. There are no big-shot sponsors, though the council has chipped in £750. It is a nice way for the comedy festival season to bow out. Except, of course, the comedy season never takes a final bow these days. There is only another two weeks to go before the Brighton Comedy Festival and then we start gearing up for Melbourne, Kilkenny, Montreal, lots more medium-sized fests...and then Edinburgh again.

Anyway, good for Whitstable. Let's hope this becomes an annual event. But please, oh please, think of a better name. The current name sounds silly and is even more annoying because I've never liked winkles. But maybe that's just me being shellfish.